12 Days of Christmas Movie Review: Bridget Jones' Diary

Bridget Jones' Diary
Director: Sharon Maguire
Screenplay: Helen Fielding
2001

Bridget Jones' Diary is one of my favorite romcom movies of all time. It follows on the tradition of Jane Austen set in late 20th century London and it could never be any better than that.

Bridget (Renee Zelwegger) is the typical modern woman, or so she tries to be, but kept on failing along the way. Career success and romantic victories do not seem to be her cup of tea, but she keeps drinking from the cup and breaking it abysmally. Her parents' marriage are on the rocks and the man whom she thought could be "the one" is crossing the Atlantic for a lucrative job in international law. But, the hero of the tale, Mark Darcy  (Colin Firth) made a decision that rocked Bridget's world and, I have to say this, made her run in her undies in what seemed to be the coldest winter yet.

I have many favorite scenes from the movie, but this closure caps of everything in a classic, yet, funny and very Bridget HEA. Austen is there, yes. But Fielding and Maguire left their hand prints on this charming tale of love lost and found again. The screenplay is honest, witty, sarcastic and utterly true. Maguirre's direction is whole and solid in showing how Bridget comes full circle.

And so, in this season of the Epiphany, I write this review to remind myself (and I hope those who read my blog too) that enlightenment is not only the mind opening up and the heart welcoming all the unfamiliar and strange things that come with the discovery of love. To know and to feel love is also to act on that love.

Mark Darcy followed his star. Bridget ran after hers. Love makes us do crazy things including, breaking down our own walls of self preservation. And we become better persons from it, despite the challenges and hard ships of loving.

There is a part 2 and 3 of this movie. But that will wait for another review!

Rating: 4.5

12 Days of Christmas Movie Review: Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2

Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2: Forever Is Not Enough
Director: Marlon Rivera
Screenplay: Cris Martinez
MMFF 2016

Talagang may mga milagrong nangyayari sa panahon ng kaPaskuhan. Biruin mo, sinamahan ako ni Papadoms manood ng Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2: Forever Is Not Enough! Last full show pa ang kinuha naming screening time at 30 minutes bago magsimula ang sine, nakapila na kami sa entrance gate ng cinema.

Syempre, nangunguna ako sa pila. At may nakakatawang kuwento bago kami nakapasok sa loob ng cinema.

Me to Ticket Lady: Miss, nagpapasok na ba?

Ticket Lady: Saan po?

Palibhasa, dalawang cinema kase ang binbantayan niya.

Me: Sa Septic Tank 2.

Ticket Lady: Nililinis pa po.

Wagi ang aming exchange of conversation, di ba? Tawa naman si Papadoms nung marining niya ito. Sapul. Senyales pala ito ng mga katawatawang eksena ng pelikula. Bukod sa katatawanan, makabuluhan rin ang pelikula at napapnahon. Tumawa kami at nag-isip.

Nag-isip, bes. NAG-ISIP.

Kaya heto ang top 5 na nagustugan kong mga eksena at aspeto sa Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2.

1. Eugene Domingo. Syempre, fan ako. Pero, bes, ang galing talaga ni Eugene dahil arte sya kung kailangang ang lungkot, saya, pagkadismaya, ka-bekihan, ka-kikayan, lahat na! Panalo sa akin ang tatlong levels ng hugot. Consistent si Eugene sa delivery ng lines sa eksena nila ni Jericho Rosales. Ang gagaling rin nina Joel Torre (walang kupas!), Cai Cortes at Agot Isidro, kahit pa kaunti lang ang role niya dito. Siya pa rin ang ideal na BFF ng bidang babae. She doesn't over run the lead, but makes her presence felt. Ganun din ang naramdaman ko habang pinapanood ko si Cai Cortes.

2. Ang talino ng script. Ang meta. Ang sharp ng dialogue at para sa aking pandinig, ang poetic ng language ni Cris Martinez. Lalo na sa eksena kung saan pikon na pikon na si Kean Cipriano kay Eugene Domingo.

3. Yung mga quiet moments sa movie, ang lakas ng dating. Enough na yung empty room sa condo ni Direk Rainer na magbigay ng hiwatig na olats na si direk kahit marami siyang trophy sa shelf niya.

4. Si Facundo. Need I say more?

5. Ang cover version ni Eugene ng Forever Is Not Enough. Ang organic. Hindi pilit. Authentic.

Ito ang mga dahilan kung bakit masasabi kong wagi ang sequel na ito para sa akin.

Rating: 4.5

12 Days of Christmas Movie Review: Tiktik (Repost)

Because Erik Matti won Best Director for Seklusyon in this year's Metro Manila Film Festival's Gabi ng Parangal, here is a review of Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles which he directed back in 2012. This review is a repost from October 2012.
 

Titktik: The Aswang Chronicles
GMA Films and Agosto Dos
Directed by Erik Matti

I saw the full trailer of GMA Films' Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles a month back when my family and I watched an APO Hiking music inspired movie. All four of us were impressed of the powerful visuals of Tiktik that we have the movie scheduled for a Halloween viewing. We did as planned and we were not disappointed.

For one, it's the kind of movie that did not make us think. I mean this in a good way.  For me and hubby, it was a perfect leisurely watch since we both work in places were thinking is the name of the game. For Nico and Zoe, exams had just ended, so goodbye thinking cap.

It was hard not to enjoy the movie. We  marveled at the visual texture the movie evoked since it made the setting, time and place characters too. There were scenes that grossed out our youngest (Zoe) but the campy tandem of Ramon Bautista and Joey Marquez made her forget the gory scenes. By itself, it is a good movie with a decent script since we shared our aswang stories to our kids' undivided attention and interest before retiring for home. I can't endorse it as an aswang movie for all families, but it will definitely rekindle old horror tales from long ago. The conversations that come after watching a movie is precious. This sharing of after thoughts rarely happens (in families) anymore.

Two days after watching Tiktik, my daughter asked me this, "Ma, talaga bang may aswang?" (Are aswangs real?)

I replied, "If you can think about it, what makes you say it is not real? The thing is, an aswang can be a metaphor or a symbol of evil. It can be the evil inside of you or in your environment. And like Makoy and Nestor in the movie, you just don't surrender to evil easily. You have to fight it to overcome it. Sometimes, it takes a while to fight it out with our aswangs and the aswangs that dwell around us."

She has not asked me since then. Happy Halloween!

Photo source: http://kapusocentral.blogspot.com/2012/08/tiktik-aswang-chronicles-full-trailer.html

12 Days of Christmas Movie Review: Saving Sally

Saving Sally
Director: Avid Liongoren
Rocketsheep Studio, 2016

When I first saw the movie teaser for Saving Sally over on Facebook, I immediately tagged my teen aged kids. They were excited to watch the movie. They have been planning on spending their Christmas money to watch it weeks before the Metro Manila Film Fest. On December 25th, we were lining up for tickets.

This very simple love story is so charming and pure that, I am recommending this for families with teenagers to watch and see together despite the phallic symbols that represent one of the characters. Spewing a few more of it when he speaks. This was done in context and one that my teen aged kids fully understood both as cinematic interpretation as well as a metaphor for people who are so full of themselves. Don't we meet those kind in real life? Like Marty, we see them as monsters and, yes, dickheads.

Which brings me now to enumerate what I enjoyed about the movie.

It doesn't lie. Totoo siya. Its agenda is not to offer amusement, shallow humor or an escapist joy. Funny because, the movie is a combination of animation and live action and yet, it shows how things really are. It is overflowing with monsters, fictional characters from comic books, robots from a long gone TV show of my childhood but its speaks of truths that are lasting. Good is good. Bad is bad. And then, there are the gray areas in between that we all need to deal with at some point in our lives.

Marty struggles to find a voice for his feelings for Sally.  His mom tells him that such issues can't be forced. Marty's dad lent advice and support at an arm's length. No wonder Marty turned out the way he is, the nice geeky guy whom you can always count on. Apparently, Marty needed a lot of growing up to do and in its wake, is heartbreak and a lot of adulting. Sally, for all her smarts and intrepid inventions, could not break free from the confines and cruelty of her surrogate parents. A victim of circumstance, she fell prey into the hands of Nick, the dickhead boyfriend, who took advantage of her vulnerability. See how valuable is the role of family in shaping one's identity? 

This only goes to show that Saving Sally has a lot to offer. Love takes time and if it is real, it finds a way. Courage is found in the depths of our fears. Redemption begins from a desire to save one's self. In the end, the geek gets the girl. Then again, in the beginning of the movie, it was the smart, artistic and weird girl who saved the geek. YAY!

How Marty saved Sally is a feast for the senses. The visual metaphors are brilliantly done. I liked the floating sketches surrounding Marty and Sally. It pushed the plot forward. Their relationship is in suspended animation. They are neither friends nor lovers. The colors and lighting looked old, a lot of sepia and shades of brown in the back ground but this added texture  and a warmth enunciating the themes of the movie. Monsters drawn in black, white and graying hues emphasizing Marty's perspective and world view.The robots that Sally created and the city where she and Marty lives in are rendered in steampunk. This makes me want to give steampunk another try.

Watch out for the easter eggs. If you're from UP Diliman, you will appreciate and understand Zorro's appearance. There are designs of buildings that are reminiscent of old haunts in the campus. I have my comic book faves and it is such a delight to see its covers in the movie too. The names and labels of stores, commercial establishments and places in the city are identified with Pinoy wit and humor. Even the sound track is cool and tender, comforting and heart wrenching the next.

I hope the movie gets an extended run and distributed in more movie houses. With eight wonderful films this season of the Metro Manila Film Festival, we all need to pick the ones we want to watch and the ones we need to give a chance. This year, it is worth to spend 200 - 300 pesos for three to five movies in the roster. But if you can afford it, go watch all!

12 Days of Christmas Movie Review: It's A Wonderful Life

60th Anniversary version available in Amazon

It's A Wonderful Life
Director: Frank Capra
1946

James Stewart is George Bailey, a businessman of Bedford Falls, who lends money to the middle working class of the community. When his Uncle Billy lost a hefty amount to keep the business going, George fell into despair and contemplated on committing suicide. Through his guardian angel, Clarence, George realized that suicide is not a solution to his problem. His is a wonderful life, indeed!

What worked

I love James Stewart. He is perfect for this role as he represents the working class of his time and age. While this kind of character has dated the film, James Stewart's acting and his rendition of the role do not. Every man is given a moment: a fall from grace; hitting rock bottom; committing an epic failure in life. Stewart's George Bailey is dignified, a man of integrity who draws respect from his peers and members of the community. When he met a dead end on his business, Stewart's George Bailey transformed into someone else. Where is the man who needs to be brave? I wanted to yank him away from the ledge in the bridge when he was thinking of ending his life.

Enter George's guardian angel, Clarence, who at the start of the movie was called on by God to intervene. I also liked this part because I do believe in angels. God's love is indeed eternal.

Clarence showed George past events of his life: how he has helped many people build lives through his buisness; what brought his hearing impairment that disqualified him from fighting in the war; and how much he is loved by his wife and children. One's course of action do affect and effect the lives of many.

I first saw this movie when I was in my tweens and I have felt good inside after seeing it. Through the years, I would watch the movie with friends and family and I would get the same feel good effect. These year, at Christmas time, watching it again affirms the magnificence and magnanimity of God's love for us. Like George Bailey, we are given the freedom to make a choice: to do good or bad; to be brave or to be a coward; to fight for our values or to run away from them. Like George Bailey, we are constantly guided by our angels. God does not control our every actions, but He is ever present in our lives.

This Christmas, I recommend this movie to be seen at home with family and friends. The world is so much in need of hope. I think we all need to be reminded how, in these dark and difficult times, God is with us. Sometimes we know and feel how he works in our lives and sometimes, we do not feel Him at all. But He sends angels, in one form or another, so that we realize that life is wonderful indeed!

Rating: 5

Source of image: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/518356GQPGL.jpg